Cults & New Age

09/11/2017

by Sean McDowell

Corey Miller is the president of Ratio Christi, an organization that brings apologetics to the university campus. He was also a classmate of mine in the Philosophy program at Talbot Theological Seminary. As a former Mormon, Corey has a special interest in reaching people in the LDS church. He has compiled a fascinating and unique book called Leaving Mormonism: Why Four Scholars Changed Their Minds. I had the chance to endorse this book and highly recommend it. If you are interested in reaching out to the Mormon community, this book is a must-read.

Check out this brief interview, and then I hope you will consider getting a copy of his excellent book:

SEAN MCDOWELL: Corey, you are a Christian leader but grew up in the LDS church. What caused you to leave Mormonism?

COREY MILLER: I was invited by a friend to spend the summer in California with his family on the condition that I attend a one-week summer camp at Hume Lake Christian Camp. I had a religion and certainly wasn’t looking forward to the camp for religious reasons, but I overlooked it because I could spend the rest of the summer at the California beaches.

The camp speaker preached on hell and literally scared the hell out of me and heaven came right into me. I’d never thought about the reality of hell much in Mormonism and it created in me an urgent need for grace, yet another concept which I never greatly appreciated until then in light of Mormonism’s near universalist focus. Hell isn’t a serious concept in Mormonism. It made me think seriously about sin in general and my sin in particular. I became immediately aware of my utter sinfulness and need for a savior. Christ’s death became very meaningful to me like never before.

Simultaneous with the message, I also saw the love of Christ, not religion, in people unlike any time in the past. This was intensely attractive. I was invited by that family to return to California for my junior year of high school and be discipled within the church I went to camp with. It was one of the most seminal years of my life.

MCDOWELL: What motivated you to write Leaving Mormonism: Why four Scholars Changed their Minds?

MILLER: Many years ago I saw a vacancy in the literature relative to Mormonism and Christianity, even by those writing at the highest level yet lacking some important element. I knew that I could be one among others to fill that vacancy if and when I would obtain a PhD.

There are many who write as post-Mormons against Mormonism but who are not Christian. There are many who write as Christian scholars who lack background insight as a former Mormon insider. There are many who write both from a Mormon background and are now Christian, but not writing with the highest of academic credentials, an arena where dialogue is now taking place. I knew that originality in publishing would create space and there was an important place in the dialogue that should be filled by those who were former Mormon, current Evangelical, and possess the highest academic credentials.

When completion of my PhD was near, I searched for contributing authors who met this three-fold criteria and discovered only six in the world, four of whom agreed to join the project…

Christians today are facing more challenges than ever. The Poached Egg exists to equip Christians to meet those challenges and be more confident in their faith and become more effective witnesses for Christ. If you find these articles and posts useful, please consider partnering with me in 2018 to continue this work that God has laid on my heart. As someone once said, the Gospel is free, but someone has to pay for the plumbing. You can become a monthly partner for just as little as $5 a month (that’s only $60 a year), the price of a gourmet cup of coffee. Special one time gifts are welcome and encouraged as well. Will you help?

08/21/2017

The 8 Beliefs You Should Know about Mormons When They Knock at the Door

by Justin Taylor

The following is a brief overview of the beliefs of Mormonism (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) believe, along with what the Bible really teaches, printed among the many articles and resources in the back of the ESV Study Bible (posted with permission).

1. Apostasy and Restoration

Mormons claim that “total” apostasy overcame the church following apostolic times, and that the Mormon Church (founded in 1830) is the “restored church.”

If the Mormon Church were truly a “restored church,” however, one would expect to find first-century historical evidence for Mormon doctrines like the plurality of gods and God the Father having once been a man. Such evidence is completely lacking.

Christians today are facing more challenges than ever. The Poached Egg exists to equip Christians to meet those challenges and be more confident in their faith and become more effective witnesses for Christ. If you find these articles and posts useful, please consider partnering with me in 2018 to continue this work that God has laid on my heart. As someone once said, the Gospel is free, but someone has to pay for the plumbing. You can become a monthly partner for just as little as $5 a month (that’s only $60 a year), the price of a gourmet cup of coffee. Special one time gifts are welcome and encouraged as well. Will you help?

12/19/2016

May the Force Bewitch You: Evaluating the Star Wars Worldview

By Robert Velarde

For nearly forty years, the Star Wars motion picture saga has captivated audiences the world over. With three new films on the horizon, Star Wars remains culturally relevant and iconic. Its music, sounds, visual effects, characters, and extensive merchandising resonate with millions of people. But technical brilliance and commercial success do not always equate with truth. The Star Wars worldview may at first glance appear to support Christian morality, such as the reality of good and evil, the search for meaning and redemption, and the pursuit of virtue. In reality, however, Star Wars is replete with non-Christian worldview concepts, including elements of Gnosticism, Taoism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Eastern meditation, occultism, and moral relativism. Star Wars, for instance, posits a yin-yang balance of opposing powers, which it calls “the Force”—a prominent thread in the films that has much in common with Taoism. Monistic pantheism is another element of the Star Wars movies that, in this case, borrows heavily from Hinduism. Moreover, aspects of the occult are prevalent in the Star Wars films and infuse various discussions and training involving the Force. Occult elements of Star Wars include telepathy, telekinesis, mind reading, and spiritism, to name a few. In addition, when it comes to its epistemology, Star Wars roots knowledge firmly in the realm of subjective feelings, urging viewers with pithy admonitions such as, “Feel, don’t think.” Far from being Christian, the Star Wars worldview is, on multiple levels, diametrically opposed to Christianity. The films may be entertaining, but the claims they make about faith, reality, knowledge, and morality do not correspond with truth.

A long time ago, in May 1977, filmmaker George Lucas launched a blockbuster movie franchise and global phenomenon with the release of Star Wars. Originally comprised of three motion pictures, three more were released beginning in 1999.1 In late 2015, the films continue with Star Wars: Episode VII—The Force Awakens, to be followed by two additional films in 2017 and 2019. The Star Wars films have significantly influenced millions of people the world over, and not just children. With stunning special effects, archetypal characters, and epic storylines, Star Wars remains a major influence not only in filmmaking but also in areas of merchandising, theme parks, video games, books, television programs, graphic novels, and in philosophy and religion. In 2012, media empire Disney purchased Lucasfilm, including the rights to the Star Wars franchise, for $4 billion, ensuring continued exposure of the Star Wars worldview. Nearly forty years after the release of A New Hope, the films and their various derivative properties remain an influential global force on the collective human experience…

Christians today are facing more challenges than ever. The Poached Egg exists to equip Christians to meet those challenges and be more confident in their faith and become more effective witnesses for Christ. If you find these articles and posts useful, please consider partnering with me in 2018 to continue this work that God has laid on my heart. As someone once said, the Gospel is free, but someone has to pay for the plumbing. You can become a monthly partner for just as little as $5 a month (that’s only $60 a year), the price of a gourmet cup of coffee. Special one time gifts are welcome and encouraged as well. Will you help?

03/03/2015

Four ways learning to defend your faith benefits you!

by Lenny Esposito

Last week, I wrote a blog post saying that if you want to love God in the way Jesus commanded, you need to get serious about loving Him with your mind as well as your heart, soul, and strength. Part of that means we as Christians need to better understand what it is we believe and we need to be able to defend our beliefs. But many people think that studying apologetics is akin to being on the school debate team; it just prepares you for face-off against opponents and helps you win debates. That's really a shallow way of understanding why learning to defend your faith is important. I can see at least four different ways learning apologetics can benefit you personally in your walk with God. I will tackle the first two today, and address the second two tomorrow.

Engaging God Intellectually Transforms Us into Better Christians

I want to draw a big line under one item here. Loving God intellectually doesn't mean you're simply equipping yourself to win an argument — it means you've studied His word carefully and thoughtfully. God isn't holding us accountable as to whether we convince others of our point, but if they are "ready on our lips" and if we can "accurately handle the word of truth" (1 Pet.3:15, II Tim 2:15). Studying God's word changes us! Paul furthers this point in Romans 12:2 when he writes, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed… by the renewing of your mind." We are transformed when we begin to understand and believe correct things about God. But just as we said to the critic, we can only be sure ourselves if we're holding right beliefs if we study them and make sure they are true to His word and His creation.

Engaging God Intellectually Guards Against Falling into Errors

Another important function of using our minds to love God is it protects us from falling into heresies or theological error. In fact, many of the cults that we face today actually have their origin in the early 19th century in Western New York in what was then the rugged frontier of America. There were many revival movements that would come and go and the itinerant preachers would really get people worked up; they would call the masses to repentance and many would respond to be "saved." But the movement was rooted only in an emotional appeal, and not intellectual rigor…

Christians today are facing more challenges than ever. The Poached Egg exists to equip Christians to meet those challenges and be more confident in their faith and become more effective witnesses for Christ. If you find these articles and posts useful, please consider partnering with me in 2018 to continue this work that God has laid on my heart. As someone once said, the Gospel is free, but someone has to pay for the plumbing. You can become a monthly partner for just as little as $5 a month (that’s only $60 a year), the price of a gourmet cup of coffee. Special one time gifts are welcome and encouraged as well. Will you help?

05/09/2014

The Urgent Need For Discernment By Christians

by Dr. Andrew Corbett

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment… Philippians 1:9

Ever hear something that didn't quite sound right? Chances are that you discerned something. To discern means to judge, evaluate and distinguish. When you discern something you are potentially protecting both yourself and others from spiritual peril. So important is the ability to discern that Christ has specifically gifted the Church with a very special gift to ensure that it happens (1Corinthians 12:10). Yet, those who are gifted with discernment are often seen as judgmental, critical and therefore: unloving. What other gift of the Holy Spirit results in such rejection and dismissal as that of discernment? But what other gift of the Holy Spirit is needed more now than ever before? Here's why.

1. THE MODERN PROLIFERATION OF IDEAS

We now live in an age when ideas are spread globally within an amazingly short period of time. Over-generally, doctrinally orthodox Christians have been too slow to harness this. All the while, New Age Anti-Christ religions, Cultists, and Charismatic swindlers have reveled in this technological phenomenon. While the internet can enable much elegance, it can also enable massive misinformation. There is little regulation of internet content and bloggers can virtually say whatever they want. Sometimes this is helpful. Sometimes it is not. Therefore, Christians need discernment more than ever.

According to Patrick Johnson (Missiologist), there are now over 32,000 denominations of Christianity. Most of these denominations have no formal ministerial training requirements for their workers (pastors). The preachers in most of these churches are not vocationally professional in the sense that they have been trained to graduate level and do nothing other than concentrate on preaching / teaching / ministry). They are often classified as "bi-vocational". These pastors often do not have the professional skill-set to expound the original intention of a Scriptural text or to discern the subtleties of doctrinal error being promoted by superstar tele-preachers. Because of the historically high number of bi-vocational pastors and the coinciding high number of tele-preachers in our times, the need for discernment among Christians is needed more than ever.

3. CHRISTIANS ARE PREDISPOSED TOWARD BELIEVING

Christians believe in a God they can not see. Christians accept the testimony of a Book written thousands of years ago. Christianity is based on a subjective conversion experience and endorses the possibility of supernatural interaction such as visions, dreams, revelations, inner healing and claims to predict the future. Often there is no apparent objective way to determine whether these claims are true or not. This is rarely seen as a problem for Christians. But it makes Christians vulnerable to being deceived. History verifies this.

Christians today are facing more challenges than ever. The Poached Egg exists to equip Christians to meet those challenges and be more confident in their faith and become more effective witnesses for Christ. If you find these articles and posts useful, please consider partnering with me in 2018 to continue this work that God has laid on my heart. As someone once said, the Gospel is free, but someone has to pay for the plumbing. You can become a monthly partner for just as little as $5 a month (that’s only $60 a year), the price of a gourmet cup of coffee. Special one time gifts are welcome and encouraged as well. Will you help?

03/20/2014

I've always been interested in apologetics, the topic of different world views and 'why are we here?' and 'where are we going?' I grew up in the church and sometimes kids who grew up in a church can be sheltered and can't engage with people with different world views… Being Christian I was interested in conversations with coworkers and friends and wanted to start healthier dialog between different people with different views… I really hope this movie can start a dialog. I don't think the movie is going to answer everyone's questions... I don't think any movie can do that, but I hope it can start a healthy respectful conversation. It's a topic people try to avoid, it can be uncomfortable but it doesn't have to be… The goal is to not be afraid, not be afraid to talk about it. This movie [God's Not Dead] is encouraging an intelligent conversation, I think that Christians need to be able to challenge themselves; they need to read books that are on a variety of topics, so they can have a very well rounded understanding culturally, scientifically, socially, philosophically. My advice is to educate yourself, to read and study, God is sovereign over everything so we shouldn't be afraid to be educated.—Shane Harper

Christians today are facing more challenges than ever. The Poached Egg exists to equip Christians to meet those challenges and be more confident in their faith and become more effective witnesses for Christ. If you find these articles and posts useful, please consider partnering with me in 2018 to continue this work that God has laid on my heart. As someone once said, the Gospel is free, but someone has to pay for the plumbing. You can become a monthly partner for just as little as $5 a month (that’s only $60 a year), the price of a gourmet cup of coffee. Special one time gifts are welcome and encouraged as well. Will you help?

12/11/2013

Stop Sharing Jesus!

Christians are commissioned to share the good news about Jesus with those who do not know Him (Matt 28:19; Act 1:8). But with the rising tide of pluralism and political correctness in our society, the concept of "sharing" Jesus is taking on new meaning. A growing number of Christians are starting to feel guilty about claiming Jesus as theirs and theirs alone, when lots of people from other religious and cultural backgrounds lay claim to Him also. In this context, "sharing Jesus" means showing tolerance towards other viewpoints on who He is. Rather than hogging Him for our Christian selves, shouldn't we share Jesus with people from other faiths and cultures, and free Him from a Westernized strait-jacket? Why should He be confined to our Christian churches with stained-glass and rows of pews, anyway? Isn't it unreasonable and, quite frankly, arrogant to think that we have all the answers about who He is? I hear this type of sentiment expressed more frequently now that cultural sensitivity is beginning to trump Scriptural accuracy more often in our churches.

There are indeed many different perspectives on who Jesus is that exist throughout the world—we may even encounter differing ideas among our friends or in our own neighborhoods. Our Muslim neighbors may revere Him as a great prophet. Our Mormon friends may proclaim Him to be their Savior. Agnostics may admire His moral teachings, but deny any certainty of His divinity. Spiritualists and

New Agers may believe Him to be divine, but reject His uniqueness. And Jehovah’s Witnesses may tell you He is an archangel. We may even find varying opinions about Jesus within the Christian community. Living in the DC-metro area, and having worked in international development and missions, I have been exposed to a diversity of opinion on who Jesus is.

The fact is, however, these conflicting views on who He is cannot all be right. While it might make us feel more comfortable to adopt a politically-correct attitude towards Jesus' identity, it makes no logical sense. He's either the Son of God or He isn't. The lunatic, liar or Lord trilemma[1] comes to mind! But in an era of cultural relativism, the idea that there is absolute truth about who Jesus is, is widely deemed intolerant, narrow-minded, offensive, even bigoted. Many Christians, therefore, shrink away from making absolute statements about Jesus these days.

Rooted in the rise of relativism and pluralism in our culture is the interfaith movement, which attempts to bring about unity between otherwise opposing believe systems through an exploration of the mystical elements in all religions and identifying the common ground between them. In this context, the bible cannot be treated as the supreme authority on matters of faith…

Ratio Christi’s The Poached Egg Apologetics and Christian Worldview Network is a nonprofit ministry in need of your financial and prayerful support to keep us going and growing. Please join our support team withan ongoing monthly or a special gift here.

Christians today are facing more challenges than ever. The Poached Egg exists to equip Christians to meet those challenges and be more confident in their faith and become more effective witnesses for Christ. If you find these articles and posts useful, please consider partnering with me in 2018 to continue this work that God has laid on my heart. As someone once said, the Gospel is free, but someone has to pay for the plumbing. You can become a monthly partner for just as little as $5 a month (that’s only $60 a year), the price of a gourmet cup of coffee. Special one time gifts are welcome and encouraged as well. Will you help?

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

The Poached Egg Worldwide

For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead, we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 2 Peter 1:16